


Zick.gif

by MomoShikadora



Category: Monster Allergy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horror, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Creepy, Creepypasta, Demonic Possession, Horror, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Major Character Injury, Other, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28036860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MomoShikadora/pseuds/MomoShikadora
Summary: The Monster Allergy fandom doesn't have enough horror, only angst. It's about time this series gets its own creepypasta.





	Zick.gif

**Author's Note:**

> Art by @/elliams (seriously look her up, she's amazing)

Niche products are always perfect subjects for creepypasta writing. Few people remember these series, comics or video games, maybe they’ve warped memories, or those are foggy after a while. When the majority knows however, that feeling of unknown enriches the mood of fear and mystery. Who hasn’t read a story amidst the old web forums talking about cartoons airing on dead channels, or about books that not even google seems to know?

I’m not a huge horror fan, but I’ve a soft spot for creepypastas, the chills running down my spine when you repeat to yourself that what you’ve just read isn’t real, when every shadow in the dark corners of your home seems to be hiding a killer urban legend. It’s better than any addiction, even cigarettes. One november evening I was on my pc, just done sketching some stuff while listening to music, when I got in the mood for another creepy adrenaline rush. Video narrations and podcasts offered a good starting point, especially when creators put the link to the original story in the description. One of these is linked to Reddit, in a forum dedicated to “lost media”. Refreshing the page after selecting “sort by new”, my journey began, quickly reading the titles while scrolling down. Around ten posts later, I found one that sounded intriguing. It was titled **“Zick.gif”** , with the bunch of fancy and boasting clickbait titles, this one almost made me chuckle. It sounded familiar, recalling something funny, even if I still didn’t know exactly what it was. I clicked on the post and a new tab opened. It was a crosspost from a subreddit called “M0n573r 4113r6y”. I knew it was “leetspeak” but I couldn’t figure it out, it was so weird to title a forum like that, was it even allowed? This felt like an obstacle that infuriated me, it didn’t occur to me I could easily google a translator, but at this point I decided to move forward and ignore it. The post was dated November 3rd 2020, almost one year ago.

_“The series “M0n573r 4113r6y” was created in the earliest 2000’s, around 2004-2005, like an Italian comic published by “[redacted]”, sold monthly in the whole country. It was a very popular series for its time, written by the minds behind Mickey Mouse and Paperinik, pillars of Italian comics. Together with 3 more authors, this series was loved and shared among the kids population, worldwide. It tells the story of two young lads, Zick and Elena, neighbors who spend their days exploring a hidden world, so close to our own, the monster world. Imagining invisible monsters roaming side by side with humans and only a few chosen ones are able to see them was in the imaginative minds of generations of children, and this was just the thing for them. They walk in the shoes of the two protagonists and pretend to be monster tamers, controlling and taming wild beasts with just their voice, and also fighting against villains who want to conquer this secret world. The comic series continued with a cartoon created by the animation house “Rainbow”, creator of “Winx”, that was promising. It was successful for a few years, its open ending where [redacted due spoilers], left its readers with a sense of nostalgia, without bitterness. However around 2016, a decade after the end of the original series, the publisher's website showcased a cover portraying the two protagonists, now young adults, together with their monster friends. The cover of issue #30, closure of a chapter and beginning of a new one. The issue starts, in fact, 10 years after the main series events, with Elena in college running a small oasis on campus. After finding her childhood friend, and going through a short adventure that led them to “borrow” another tamer’s powers, both are ready to face adulthood, together with the old fans, adults themselves. The new series is named “Evolution”, clever title for a part, since growing up is a bit like evolving. And the series was evolving… not so well for the old school readers.”_

The article ends here. Now I remember, even if the title is still a doozy, but a part of my childhood came back with the force of a tsunami, tears filled my eyes, despite being a sickly child in the past, I’ve fond memories of those two brats getting in all sorts of mischief, all the laughters they tore out of me. But then came another question. This new series, “Evolution”, why did it take such a bad turn? If it was written by the same people, it couldn’t be that bad, right?

I kept scrolling down looking for more information, many were old scans of the original comic, blurry low res and in different languages. Others were pictures of old toys sold with snacks, I remember I used to have those as well, then I threw them away for some reason. It was a challenge to not stop at every article for a nostalgia wave, I kept on scrolling until I found a post about the new series. Again the title **“Zick.gif”** , with a subtitle, **“one last slap in the face of the traitors”**.

“Damn, it’s already a title for a new issue.” I thought to myself smiling. A new tab opened with the post, the NSFW filter on. That was strange, such an innocent series could be disturbing? My dirty mind formulated a thought, since the characters grew up, there has to be a “grown up” theme too, stupid me was blushing, I gave myself a mental slap reinfoced by a bap on the cheek, this wasn’t the right moment to think about such things, better to get deeper into this rabbit hole. I took a sip of water from the bottle next to my device and started reading.

_“As much as the “M0n573r 4113r6y eVo'' series was created by the original team, collaborating with famous artists and backed up by the publisher as well, critiques from old and new fans were quick to come. There was a general feeling of crawling in the dark, looking desperately for a balance after a rough fall. Every new chapter was a self fulfilling story connected to the others by a vague and bleak ending, the new characters were as thick as boiled water, boring and staged stereotypes, placeholders to give some sort of color to a failing plot. 3 new characters were introduced and 2 were already forgotten; [redacted], Elena’s boyfriend, disappeared after being, apparently, dumped; there was an attempt to a creepy horror atmosphere in “Arriana’s thread”, with [redacted due spoilers] and [redacted due spoilers], it goes on in “The voice of the shadow”, where yet another character is introduced, leaving the old cast behind, and nobody answers the questions from fans, forcing them to find solace in their own creations of AU (alternate universes) and fanfictions. The finishing blow came with the web direct in late october 2020, amid lockdown #2. The biggest and most famous comic fair, “Lucca Comics and Games”, was renamed “Lucca Changes”, it was the first time the city was locked down in time of fair, opting for online panels and streaming for meetings with artists and alike. One of the panels was dedicated to this series, in which the writers, featuring the latest collaborating artists, were interviewed by two major Italian Youtubers.”_

Attached to the paragraph were screenshots of the streaming. Six people, ranging between middle age to young adults, framed in amused expressions, paused mid sentence, focused on the topic, and yet a different emotion leaked from their eyes, a different idea. Maybe it was burnout, maybe indifference, it wasn’t clear, the screenshots were too low quality to inspect further. The article continued.

_“The most uncomfortable questions were avoided like the plague, to nobody’s surprise; when the question was about why they decided to pick up a series one decade later, the creators answered with, “when we saw that the reprints were selling strong and there were a lot of old and new fans, we thought it was fair to give them a sequel to the story, show their heroes now grown up, make them more real and empathize better with the readers'', against the trend of “reboots'' and “remakes”, they preferred to follow the same road. But at the same time they confirmed, “it’s always a series for all ages, even if many readers are by now adults, we want the new generations to enjoy it just as much. We followed the same trend of absence of technology and we’ll be careful not to be too explicit. This means no blood, no gore, no sex in the newest issues”, and this last stament already made many old fans upset, leading them to go buck wild with their fanatasies, for the laughter of their peers, and many traumas for the younglings."_

The last bit was genuinely hilarious, I had to expect that. If I had learned anything from roaming the web, was that any excuse was good enough to be horny and create something filthy. I shook my head to get rid of any naughty or indecent thought, I wasn't here for that. There were still lots of questions to be answered. At the end of the article, there was a link to another post, sided by the quote, “one last slap to the face of the traitors”. I clicked and the window opened to a website I didn’t recognise. I felt chills down my whole body, quickly I checked the antivirus, all good. It looked similar to the creepypasta wiki, but very poorly coded and plain, just a black page with white text on. Judging by the length of the scrolling bar, it was a long story. I took a deep breath, I was excited at the idea to uncover a new piece of this mysterious puzzle. Another sip of water and here I go.

_“Against the statement from the creators six months ago, there’s been an attempt from the writers to make the plot darker and scarier. But rumours have it that the script was so vile and frightening, that the writer was fired the day after submitting its work. No more is known about their whereabouts to this day. A web lurker, a famous “lost media” hunter, found a copy of the script and some sketches for the panels of the issue. They posted everything here anonymously, in fear of legal consequences, even if there’s little to fear knowing the law system in Italy, but better safe than sorry._

_The title for this scraped issue #36 was “[redacted]”, and it started with a sequence about the carillon belonging to the villain Sinistro, being moved in a safe place, but it’s dropped and shattered, freeing its content of raging and vindictive souls, wrecking havoc and death in the place of healing and peace. One of these entities, made of pure hatred and cruelty in the shape of a black comet, fled the ruins of the place looking for a host to parasite for energy, the first couple pages ends with a view of the bloody, literally, massacre._

_Next is the protagonist's house, an ordinary day, but filled with dread and anxiety. The younger tamers are huddled together, terrified of something, while the monsters try to peek and see what’s going on. There’s shouting, like two people fighting. A zoom in the room shows Elena in a full blown rage, close to throwing any object at hands reach, her fury aimed towards Zick, also angry but less willing to argue. The dialogue is missing, expect for a last sentence, it’s Elena yelling “IF YOU WEREN’T HERE I’D BE THE HAPPIEST WOMAN ALIVE!” and she leaves the room slamming the door behind her, leaving the young man frozen and speechless about what just happened. Then comes a snarky remark from the cat tutor Timothy, met only by glares from the others._

_The next panels are indoors, the tension from the previous fight is still lingering and heavy. Zick goes out, without saying a word, his face bleak, defeated, hands in pockets and head hanging low while he walks on the sidewalk fencing the campus park. Around him, everything is quiet, a closeup of two birds cuddling, followed by another closeup of two flowers blooming from the same stolk, an endless mocking to his broken heart. Behind Zick, the black entity from before is shown slithering beneath the benches and in the bushes, stalking and waiting for the right chance to interact. It disappears behind a tree, appearing again with the traits of a mesmerizing black woman, thin braids tied together in a massive ponytail, an attire similar to a circus lion tamer, fingerless leather gloves and perfect nails. A closeup of her face shows dark green eyes and a smile shining with pearly white fangs._

_The next scene shows Zick still lost in thoughts, when he looks up and sees this woman, she’s distracted looking at her phone. He moves aside to let her pass, but she looks up too and smiles as greeting, her expression then is of confusion._

**_“Is everything alright sugar?”_ ** _she asks._

_“Yeah yeah, all good…” he replies in a hurry, walking again. But the lady follows him, walking by his side._

**_“I don’t think so, you look like you just saw the Grim Reaper.”_ ** _she continues._

_“I don’t wanna talk about it.” Zick speeds up._

**_“I know you had a fight with your girlfriend!”_ ** _the lady says, making him stop abruptly, turning surprised._

_“How… you took a wild guess!”_

**_“Oh no, darling. I’ve a sixth sense for this sort of thing. I just need a glimpse in your eyes, to understand all you’re thinking about.”_ ** _Taking advantage of the moment, the woman gets closer, giving him a better look._ **_“You did all you could to make her happy, and yet it’s not enough, it’s all wrong in her eyes. She regrets dating you, ain’t that right?”_ **

_Zick is shocked at the accuracy of her description, but then he’s gloomy and bummed again, he barely nods, close to tears._

**_“Aww don’t be like that.”_ ** _The woman cups his cheek, a sweet gesture, but actually cold and calculated._ **_“I know how it feels to be hated by the people you love. I can help you.”_ **

_“And how?!” Zick shoves her hand away, angered and offended. “Unless you're a witch of some sort, I don’t see how you can help me!”_

_The woman smiles a Cheshire smile._ **_“I’m much more than a witch, sweetheart. I’m what you could describe as, a guide. I know we’re talking about the same thing, and I know that you’re aware I’m not of this world.”_ ** _She then snaps her fingers, morphing her hand in pitch black essence. Zick follows his tamer instinct and raises his hand too, ready to blast a dom ray._ **_“Relax, I don’t want to hurt you. I’m here to help you instead. My true essence is growing weaker, and I need help myself stat.”_ **

_“... you’re a parasite.” Zick replies, gritting his teeth but lowering his arm._

**_“More of an entity per se, although can parasite if needed. But that’s beside the point, honey. I know far too well what you want, what you desire. You want to find a way to fix the wrongs you received, be a man. A real man, able to protect the woman you love and your friends, and you don't know where to turn to. Tell me I’m wrong.”_ ** _The woman crosses her arms over her chest all smug. Zick looks away, busted._

_“... I don’t know what to do… I tried, but I can’t be what Elena wants…”_

**_“And I can help you to become that. If you’ll listen to me.”_ **

_Zick gives her a skeptical look, interested, but not trusting. “What do you want from me?”_

**_“As I’ve said, I need to recharge. I just need you to “host” me, inside your body. I’ll be like your conscience, nobody will see me, only you. I’ll guide you in every step, I’ll tell you what to do in every moment, what’s better to say when you speak and what to say to answer any question that’ll come your way. I’ll be always by your side, you won’t have to be afraid to say something wrong or to mess up anymore. For this, I’m only asking to take some of your energy. That’s all.”_ **

_Zick is staring at her, struggling to find any fault in her logic, but such a beautiful woman, such a confident woman… he even forgot this wasn’t her real form. The lady keeps on smiling, waiting for an answer._

_“If I accept your offer… will you help me to improve?”_

**_“Absolutely! So, do you accept?”_ ** _Her eyes are glimmering of a weird light, an insane glimmer._

_“Yes.” Zick needs to say no more, to allow the entity to possess him. In a flash, the woman turns to her original form, slithering like a snake in the mouth of the young man, taken aback and unable to react in any way. His eyes turn completely black, hollow, lifeless and yet malicious, he shuts them close, shaking his head and when he blinks, everything is back to normal. Zick looks around him panting, the entity speaks loudly in his head._

**_“Breathe boy. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Nothing changed, you can be sure of that.”_ **

_“...” he stays still a bit longer, making sure he’s safe and sound. He doesn’t feel much different, if anything he’s more confident in himself, the entity gifted him self esteem first._

“Wow… just wow…” I say aloud to myself, nodding stunned. It wasn’t anything extraordinary, considering what I’ve read before, nothing groundbreaking, but to be for a self claimed “family friendly” series I understood why that was too much. I was barely halfway through, who knows what’s yet to be found? But I took a break for the moment, I was getting hungry.

While searching for a tasty snack, I couldn’t help but think about what I’ve read so far. Again, nothing too gorey or creepy to be worth censorship and firing, what comes next then? Sadistic disemboweling? Maniacal abuse? Child murder? I had no idea if I should be worried or laugh at the troll of the century that was inching closer. Maybe rather than the writing, the sketches were the downfall of the scriptwriter? And how gruesome and realistic were those to be so unforgiving? I still had too many unanswered questions to waste time, a chocolate bar would be enough, I needed sugar to go on. Back in my room, I couldn’t wait any longer and scrolled to the end of the article, mayne the sketches were there? Bingo! There were only two… I was disappointed. I opened those in different tabs. Both were pencil sketches, black and white.

One was about a guy who I suppose is Zick with his eyes completely blackened, in a trancelike state, the woman-entity at his side while she seemed to be whispering something to his ear. I have to admit that those empty eyes were eerie enough, they felt like they were staring right into my soul, ready to steal it away. I closed the tab and moved to the other.

”Woah!” I backed away at the sight. This was a bust, or closeup, of Zick, again those eyes completely black, this time paired with a disturbing and evil grin, like he snapped mad. The drawing seemed to be glitching, like it was on an old and broken monitor. I checked the link, “Zick.gif”, so this is the image that bestowed the title upon the article. A gif, animated picture, surely made to give even more the idea he was possessed by that entity.

“Well, the creepy factor is there, it looks like a horror movie…” I giggle nervously, and hurry to close the page, I didn’t like how that dude stared at me. In retrospective, that was dumb as hell, but really it seemed like he was looking right at me, waiting for the chance to get out the screen and attack me. I cleared my throat ith a cough, going back to read the article, telling myself that was just a sketch, well done, but just a fucking drawing!

_“Part of the script has been lost at this point, but the data that’s been dug up confirm that, since the deal with the entity is sealed, the change in Zick’s attitude was quite obvious. How he acts, how he behaves, his reactions towards others. Nobody understands what happened tho, even if he’s more respected. Still, the meetings with the entity are far from discrete or secretive, he seems schizophrenic from an outside view. Caught talking to himself, with his reflection in the mirror or with cracks and stains on the wall. He manages, at first, to justify this as thinking out loud, but soon enough everyone realizes it happens far too often, he moves like there’s someone else in the room, he walks around and points his finger at nothing. There’s a succession of panels, in which the scene is from Zick’s point of view, he sees the woman move around him, touch and move objects, like she’s real, while in reality nothing happened and he’s putting back stuff that was never moved in the first place. She talks about how some things must be done, how to handle restless children, suggesting to hit them if needed, they’re always tamers, “and arguments must be solved like tamers”, hinting to a physical combat, albeit unfair, “it’ll show them how life is unfair, and they must toughen up if they want to survive”. Zick doesn’t agree at first, but the entity convinces him, telling him that his own experiences should be an example. He didn’t defeat monster-ska and dark ghosts with diplomacy, Leon himself didn’t hesitate to attack him unfairly multiple times. They all sounded like logical reasoning, so Zick follows her advice, becoming a stern and even bossy person. Even Timothy didn’t like this new attitude in the boy, after receiving a nasty response himself. All of this was right to the eyes of the tamer, he was showing to be stronger, more responsible. But everything has a limit, and it’s Elena the one to tell him he crossed the line.”_

I rub my hands with a lopsided smirk, I already had an half baked idea of where this was going.

_“The plot moves along in the evening, the house is empty and the kids follow Timothy down the stairs, they’re smiling, ready to party and have fun. Indoors scene, with the entity and Zick talking in the bedroom, discussing something. He's not sure of what he’s doing, he feels like the last snap at the tutor was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The entity replies that being an adult also means understanding when an authority is abusing its power, and that’s what Timothy was doing since too long. And she points out every positive detail, the higher respect from the kids and the monsters, Elena seems to trust him more, even if she didn’t apologise officially yet. Zick underlines the fact that she tried, but he, or better said following the entity advice, never accepted her apologies for real. The entity continues saying that those were just excuses to clean her conscience, she wasn’t sincere in that moment, he still had something to prove before he could accept Elena’s apology. Zick is completely wrapped around the entity's finger and he believes her, although with a bitter feeling. Until, fate would have it, a doubt sprouts in his mind._

_“Maybe I still didn’t do enough? Maybe I should do more?” he asks anxious, the entity walks closer and whispers to his ear._

**_“You’ll never be enough for her. It’s you, Ezekiel Zick, who can’t satisfy her. She remembers you like that kid next door constantly afflicted with allergies, who abandoned her out of the blue without a reason. It doesn't matter if you saved her life, she could save herself just fine, but you’ve been just an iron ball around her ankle since you showed up again, annoying like chewing gum on the sole of a shoe, overprotective and know-it-all and yet pathetic in his attempts.”_ ** _His eyes widen, slowly filling with black, like a glass murky with ink. The entity has completely taken over his body._

_“You… you promised to help me become a better person!” Zick yells. “I DID EVERYTHING YOU TOLD ME AND I’M STILL NOT MAN ENOUGH?!”_

**_“I taught you every notion possible, all that I know I shared with you. The problem is, even the best students can fail. Give up, sugar, you’ll never overcome your limits.”_ **

_In that moment Elena walks in the room, Zick sitting on the bed with his face in hands, she sits beside him, resting her hand on his back but he scoots away. She takes her hand back. She waits a bit more before talking._

_“I don’t know what’s happening to you, Zick… you don’t talk anymore with anyone, you get angry for a small mistake… I don’t know you anymore…” he still doesn’t move, sighs heavily. “I know that… what I said hurt you, I know that pretty well… and you still don’t wanna forgive me, I understand and I’ll make peace with it… but I want you to understand that… I’m sorry, really I’m sorry. I’ve no excuses for blowing up like that, and I’m ashamed of myself…” she lifts her glasses to wipe tears away. “I know you’re doing your best to be a good man and a responsible person, and I admire you for that… but… I just want… want to say that… I miss you. I miss who you were before, so spontaneous, even a bit childish… I don’t want you to become someone else…”_

_Then, Elena holds him in a hug. Offscreen, it looks like Zick returns the hug, but as soon as Elena looks at him, she’s stunned at the sight of his face and lets him go, but he grasps her arms._

**_“I’m already someone else, Elena…”_ ** _his voice distorted, like two ovelapping each other._ **_“You broke me, humiliated me… and you can shove your apologies right when they belong!”_ ** _He stands up, yanking Elena away and showing her to the floor. She barely has time to register what’s going on, she turns around in shock to look at her boyfriend, seeing only a hollow and sick gaze, a crazed smile, while she stumbles back to her feet. She’s aware that it's not Zick, surely some sort of ghost possessed him, but the shock is too much and turning in fear, how couldn't she notice until that moment? Why didn’t it occur to her sooner?_

_She can barely stand up, when Zick is onto her again, pushing her against the wall by the throat. He lifts her up, staring into her eyes, but a firm kick to the face and he lets go of the prey. While he’s holding onto his broken nose, Elena has enough time to catch her breath and run from the room, looking for the phone to call for help. But just as she takes the device in hand, it’s melted by a dom ray, scorching her hand in the process. She turns around and sees Zick standing at the door, his face smeared with blood and fury. She yells at him to stop, to leave her alone, but there’s no answer, and she must run again to safety, the kitchen it’s the first idea. There’s plenty of items for self defense, but she’s not quick enough, Zick grabs her again, aiming a fist to her face, breaking her glasses. The broken lens pierce her eyes, leaving her blind and in agony. She has no way to fight back, her aggressor shoves her to the floor, his dom power active and he keeps on hitting her, burning her clothes and flesh. Elena is writhing, trying to hit back, throwing punches and actually hitting Zick but he’s unaffected. He clutches her wrists and burns them with his dom, then moving the death grasp around her neck, smothering a choked scream, her eyes roll backwards, her head drops to the side, a streak of crimson blood marks her lips then pooling on the floor. The man, satisfied with his work, releases the grasp and stands up, revealing a pulp of burned skin, bits sticking to his hands, his and Elena’s blood blending._

**_“You really became stronger.”_ ** _The entity speaks up, manifesting in front of Elena’s corpse, clapping a slow applause. Zick snaps back to reality, the sclera washed in white again as he takes in the sight before him. The horror painted on his face can’t be described, mouth agape in a silent scream, voice stuck in his throat. He looks at his shaking hands, doers of that atrocity, he then turns to the entity, looking for words, anything. He can barely stutter the name of his girlfriend, before the entity approaches, walking over Elena’s body._

**_“I’m surprised by you, I knew you were easy to anger, considering the fact you almost strangled a kid, but I never thought you’d come this far against the woman you claimed to love far and wide and to every passersby.”_ **

_“No… no no no no… no no… no… NO!...”_

**_“No… what? Speak up, darling, don’t stutter.”_ **

_“I don’t… you!... you did…”_

**_“I only taught you how to be a man. You’re free to do as you please with my advice, but don’t blame me for your actions.”_ ** _Replies the entity, booping his nose. Zick can feel the pain of his broken nose, he backs off shielding the aching organ, but still looking at Elena, through the entity, he sees nothing else, only that massacred body, tortured by the man who promised to do the polar opposite. He should have protected her, kept her safe from every evil, but her agonizing and violent end was caused by him. He can’t even cry, just stays there, back against the wall, sliding down, shivering like a hatchling. The entity stands there observing the scene, like a witness passing by. Suddenly, Zick coils on himself, barfing and vomiting what little he had in his stomach and bile, the entity’s face twists in disgust._

 **_“Urgh, get a grip you brat!”_ ** _she cleans her boots, glaring at the boy, still on his knees holding his stomach, short of breath._

_“W-What… h-have… what have I done…” he whines to nobody in particular, except himself, his mind free from control now filled with regret._

**_“What you had to do, that’s it. Don’t even think I’m somewhat responsible, darling. You tied your own hands, remember that. You can’t blame no one but yourself, when you accepted my offer. And one last advice, try and clean yourself up.”_ ** _Having said that, in a snap of fingers, the entity shifts to its true serpentine appearance, fading into nothingness, leaving the house in an utter and deafening silence._

_Zick stays there, pondering those words, desperately looking for a meaning in all of this. But no matter how hard he thinks, there’s no sense, all of this must be a nightmare, he’d wake up sooner or later, and he’d find Elena in the bed next to him, the kids still sleeping in their bunk beds, and all of this would be a nightmare to forget. The reek of vomit clogs his nostrils, forcing his mind to reality. He raises his head again, sight blurry with tears, he didn’t need to see clearly to have the image of Elena’s corpse branded in his brain, his body now suffering with the blows he received, and bestowed; he felt exhausted, like he was melting from inside out, a cacophonic chaos drumming in his ears. A spark of rationality ignited in his head, he knew what to do, he also knew what would happen if he called somebody, but he was so tired, so broken, so shattered by everything, there was no strength to do anything at all. He recognised the voice of his conscience, his true conscience, telling him that he was a monster, a demon, a creature that neither insults nor labels could describe, a fool to trust a voice, a phantom. With what little energies he had left, he placed his hands on his head, like to cover his ears from a buzzing noise. He didn’t want to feel anything anymore, think anything anymore, remember anything anymore, he just wanted to leave, and leave everything behind. His gaze went to his Elena one last time, murmuring a weak and raspy “forgive me…” and then focused all of his dom power in one last blow. And nothing more.”_

I sat there staring at the screen, turning the cogs in my brain to register what I’ve just read, the two sketches from before were there, framing this story, staring at whoever arrived at the end, that bastard grinned and stared while he glitched at his own tempo. He seemed to be laughing at what just happened. I shook my head and returned to the desktop, realizing only now that I was holding my breath and my head was throbbing. I was thirsty, I chugged every last drop of water at once. When I got a hold of myself, I realized why this script was trashed, I’m fully aware that this was just a comic book and nothing that was written ever happened, and yet I felt icky, disgusted for some reason. I don’t even remember the full plot, and yet I felt awful at the idea of those characters suffering like that, I was mad at that writer for birthing such a story, they took the concept of “explicit” and stretched it to infinity and beyond, for what? For pure entertainment sake? For a twisted unexpected ending to give to a series that was drowning in its failure? I didn’t have the guts to search for more, I closed the browser and turned the pc off. I need to get some sleep.

The following morning I was better, still dragging some of that anguish from the previous evening. The sketches popped back in mind and I shivered. That insane face will haunt me for a long while, as hard as I tried to suppress the memory it was still there. To make peace with it all, I decided to read the whole series. Looking on Reddit again, I found the real subreddit about the series, with the whole issues, always low res but readable. Evolution was on sale, there was until #35 it seemed, or they continued and I didn’t know. I read those too, and after reading that cursed script, it didn’t look so bad, I sighed in relief in finishing “The voice od the shadow”, that last dumb quote was absolutely forgivable. This series, despite niche, is worth the attention it got, and I’m glad of how it ended so far. Specially, I’m glad that issue #36 will be nothing but a web urban legend.


End file.
